Tyrone Logan
NSO Blog Post
March 9th, 2012
NSO Blog Post
March 9th, 2012
STEP
INTO THE SPOTLIGHT
Recently I attended a hall talent
show that was a part of a university wide program put on by the Residence
Hall Association (RHA). This program was called Step into the Spotlight
and it was run by the Residence Assistants (RA's) of every building on
campus. Every student that lived on campus was eligible to participate in
this talent show. Residence Assistants of each hall had to nominate students
that had talent to perform in a talent show. This talent show was a chance
for students to show off their talents to all of their classmates, and gave
other students an opportunity to support the performers. The top three
contestants won $50 and a chance to move on to the finals.
I was talking with one of the administrators
who is in charge of overseeing Step into the Spotlight and he told me
that he did not want this to be “just another talent show.” He wanted Step
into the Spotlight to be about the students and their talents. With this
in mind the RA's made sure all students were supportive of every act. It is
very hard to get up in front of a group of people and perform, but with the
pressure of winning being "thrown out the window" students were
free to go on stage in front of a large group of their peers and do what they
love to do. The crowd made it very easy for the performers to perform by being
supportive of every act. There was a ton of cheering before and after each
act. This took a lot of the pressure off of the performers and encouraged a
family environment among the different halls.
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This talent shows
took place in the main lounge of each residence hall. I had a chance to
participate in the program at Quad 2 on Livingston Campus. My brother and I
performed a rap that we wrote. We added a song we wrote and a dance a friend
made for us and we ended up coming in first place. This was a great feeling,
but even before we took the stage people we had never met were wishing us well
and telling us we would do great. During our performance the crowd was cheering
for us and giving us the support we would normally get from family members that
have known us since birth. It was awesome to have this support coming from
people who I had just met in September. The way the program was run was perfect
because it was not focused on winning but it was focused on having fun and
enjoying the company of those who lived around you. While my brother and I
waited for our turn to perform and after we performed we cheered for all the
other acts because these people were more than just opponents they were fellow
Rutgers University students that were sharing their talents with us! Before Step
into the Spotlight I had no idea that so many talented students lived right
around me! It was an amazing evening and I made a lot of new friends which was
perfect for me as a first-year student.
Although only three
acts placed, we were all winners even the people watching, because we all
understood the bigger meaning of this talent show. The point of this talent
show was to become one with the people around us. We are all Rutgers students
meaning we are all Scarlet Knights and knights ride into every battle together
no matter the outcome! This little idea has brought our residence hall closer
than ever! I am sure that this needs to be done again in future years to come
so that all students in the residence halls meet new people with whom they may
be able to connect with. This would also be a great chance for students to come
out of their comfort zone and feel free to express their true self with those
around them.
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